PHILADELPHIA >> Michael Carter-Williams is being treated at the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania for an infection on the front of his right knee.

The infection caused the 76ers point guard, who is being listed as day-to-day, to be away from the team Saturday and miss his second straight game. Carter-Williams, who was admitted to UPenn Thursday, spent a third consecutive night there. He’s being treated by team physician Brian Sennett and UPenn’s infectious disease specialist Neil Fishman, the team said

There is no timetable for his return.

“Michael is at UPenn still and will stay again overnight (for) more precautionary stuff with our team doctors,” coach Brett Brown said, before the Sixers faced visiting Denver. “It’s a right knee infection that’s being monitored closely, but nothing to get too overly concerned with.”

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Initially, both Carter-Williams and the Sixers had said the rookie had a sore, swollen knee following contact with another player’s knee in a Dec. 1 game in Detroit. He played 47 minutes through the pain and recorded a triple-double Tuesday in a double-overtime win over Orlando, before sitting out practice Thursday and skipping Friday’s game at Charlotte.

Brown had a hunch it was something more than soreness, he said.

“When you looked at it in (Tuesday’s) overtime, you realize that there was something going on (that was) a little more than a sore knee,” said Brown, who has said Carter-Williams’ knee had a maroonish tint to it. “At this stage, he’s in good hands. In relation to how long that’s going to take, I don’t know.”

Without Carter-Williams for any stretch could be detrimental for the Sixers, who entered Saturday’s game with nine losses in their last 11 games, and only one win in the five games in which Carter-Williams has been unavailable. Named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for November, Carter-Williams is averaging 17.7 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds through his first 15 games.

Following Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sixers go on the road for two in a row — Wednesday at Minnesota and Friday at Toronto. Carter-Williams’ status for those games is unclear.

“It’s a combination of the bump and the infection and it’s produced this type of timeline,” Brown said. “I’m not sure (about next week’s road trip). I just keep getting day-to-day advice from people who know more than I do.

“There’s no timeline, either length of time or speed coming back. No one really gives information, because we don’t know.”

The Sixers had Thaddeus Young in their starting lineup, going with the forward after he experienced muscle pain a night earlier.

Young temporarily exited in the third quarter of the Sixers’ loss at Charlotte Friday night, before returning from the locker room and re-entering the game in the fourth quarter. The team said Young had felt pain in his left glute muscle.